26 weeks and Registering

So I have fallen a bit behind in keeping up with weekly posts on this pregnancy. All is continuing to go well. We went in this past Monday at 25 weeks and 3 days for another doctor's appointment. It had been 4 1/2 weeks since we had last been in and 4 1/2 weeks since we had seen our little one through ultrasound. I knew that my doctor planned on this being a 'typical' appointment since all was looking so good at 20 weeks, but I was hopeful that she would do just a quick ultrasound. That did not happen, but she reassured me that everything is going as it should be. Our appointment in total was probably less than 10 minutes. The doctor came in, listened to the heartbeat, checked my stats, and asked what questions I had. That was it. It was hard to believe how fast it was over but at the same time reassuring that things are going well and we are considered to be having a 'typical' pregnancy.

In the past 4 1/2 weeks I had only gained 2-3 pounds which is good. I am a bit scared to see how much bigger I am going to get over the next 14 weeks. My maternity clothes are already fitting tighter, especially the ones I wore till the end with Morgan. The little one is continuing to grow and according to online stats she is now about 14 1/2 inches long and 2 lbs. She is definitely getting stronger and moving a lot. I can now feel her more and more during the day. Morgan has felt her now several times and really enjoys getting to 'play' with her sister by pushing on my belly and trying to get her to push back.

Here are some pictures of the growing belly over the past few weeks:

23 weeks

24 weeks 1 day

26 weeks 1 day
(we missed the 25 week pic as we were up in PHX)

This week's big event was going as a family to register. Since we saved most of our stuff from Morgan there wasn't much we needed, mostly things that were used up like diapers, wipes, etc... and things that should be replaced like pacifiers and bottles. David wanted to take Morgan with us so that she could help out. I am glad we decided to have her join us since we really needed her there for our biggest decision, a stroller.

As we entered Babie.s R.Us I saw that they were closing at 6:00 (I actually now think I miss read this) and said to David, "Well, at least we have a time limit." It was already 4:00 when we arrived. He laughed and said "You better be joking." We both figured since there were only about 12 items on our list that it should go pretty fast.

We were wrong.... we ended up taking almost 2 hours and didn't even get 100% finished. At least I will be able to add a few things online if we need to.

We started at the front of the store and worked our way to the back. One of the first things we looked at was Morgan's request, she wanted to pick out pacis for her sister. Morgan chose some cute clear and purple pacifiers. We then found some girlie wash clothes and towels which Morgan helped us scan. She enjoyed getting to do this part.

It was then off to the stroller section. For months now we have been debating whether we even needed a double stroller and if we did which kind. At first we thought we could get away without one, but the more we thought about it we realized it wasn't practical. Although we wouldn't use a double that often there would definitely be times when we would need it. For instance, sometimes Morgan is just way too wiped out to drive her wheelchair or the situation is way too crowded for us to feel comfortable like at Disneyland, SeaWorld, etc.. or just holiday shopping at the mall. We also know that we will still be traveling to Philly at least once or twice a year for check ups. With that being said we figured it would be a good idea to have the double stroller as an option. So I hunted online for the past several weeks looking at double stroller options, reading reviews, etc... I have spent hours on this task. The most challenging thing about it is that we need something that will really support Morgan, sitting her upright enough, will give her leg room to grow, and will support a lot of weight since she may be 7 and still at times needing the stroller. We also didn't want something that would take up too much space in the van. That was hard to find, but we went into the baby store yesterday with three different ones in mind that we wanted to test out.

The top 3 based on my online hunting were:
1. The Com.bi twin sport
2. The Mini Ci.ty jogger
3. The p.eg Pere.go like Georgia got.

We tested out Georgia's while we were visiting on Friday. Instantly I knew it wouldn't work well for Morgan. Although the seat gave her really good support and put her in a great upright position, due to where the wheels are placed she only had about 1/2 in. to an 1 in. before her feet would be rubbing. Not a lot of room for growth.

The first one we tested at the store was the Com.bi. It presented the same challenge, Morgan's feet were close to the wheels and it didn't look like she would have a lot of room, so we moved on to the Ci.ty. Morgan's PT had suggested that a jogger might be the way to go as it may provide more leg room. Although she fit okay at this time, she did fit now. We didn't see room for growth.

Here is Morgan testing out the Ci.ty

After that didn't fit we started looking at all the other double options. We tried just about every one, the Si.t-to-St.and, the Chicc.o, the Gr.aco, etc... Each had something that did not seem to work. I was starting to get really frustrated and tired. The one that seemed to be the best option so far was the Si.-t-to-Sta.nd deluxe that had one in front of the other. Morgan could sit in the back and her feet would go into the basket. This would allow for plenty of growth. I wasn't too happy with it though, I really didn't want the tandem kind of stroller and when David folded it up it was pretty big still. Part of our challenge is that we do not travel lightly. Having to lug that huge thing to Philly and fit that and a walker and suitcases in a rental car wouldn't really work. Plus if we are going to Cali or PHX and we want Morgan to have the option of her wheelchair there is no way both would fit.

As my mind was starting to think we would never find a good option I started thinking about my girlfriend BJ and her twins. We had just ran into them that morning at VPD and I had seen her stroller. She actually just uses two umbrella strollers and hooks that connect them to make a double. She can the unattach them if she is just taking one child. This would be a great option since we figured we would end up needing a single stroller for the little one once she outgrows the infant seat we plan on using with the sn.ap and g.o we got from a friend. So...we headed to the single stroller aisle for more hunting.

Now usually umbrella style strollers are not a great option for Morgan as they don't usually have much support and are fairly light weight so they don't tend to hold as much. Plus for the little one we wouldn't be able to use it until she was older. Well... we ended up finding the Mac.laren which has nice back support, you can actually recline them (which not many umbrella strollers do), and it holds up to 55 pounds! We tested Morgan out in it and she looked really good. She seemed really happy and we liked how she was positioned. We then had to try to decide between two different versions that had a $50 price difference, which times two would come to $100 price difference. We couldn't really see a difference in store other than the recline function so we decided that we could wait on registering for the exact stroller but plan to get two of the Mac.larens and the straps to connect them. Not only is this a great option because Morgan fits well and has room to grow, but they fold up tiny so we could easily fit the wheelchair, walker, strollers, and luggage in the van. It also then allows us to take just one for the little one and the wheelchair, to take both connected, or if David and I are both with them take both individually. It is definitely the most flexible option.

Morgan testing out the Mac.laren.

So after spending about an hour and half testing out strollers we decided to move on to finishing the registry. We headed towards the back and Morgan helped zap a few diapers and wipes. We also chose a new diaper pail (one that can use regular bags, I can't tell you how much money we wasted over the past 4 years on refill packs), and a new monitor.

After all that shopping we were all pretty wiped and hungry. We stopped on our way home to grab some dinner as a family. Once at home I jumped online to try to find out the difference between the two Ma.claren strollers. Basically for $50 there were only three minor differences: 1. the recline function, it goes down differently. The more expensive one is easier to use and better, but not sure worth $50. 2. There is a peek-a-boo window in the sun shades. Nice to have but again not sure it is worth $50. 3. With the seat recline function there is also a seat extender so you can use it more easily with a small baby. Again, I wasn't sure all of this was worth the $50, which would turn into $100 when we buy two. From the reviews I read they all said the cheaper one was the better value, so I got online to our registry and added the stroller. CHECK!

I think overall I am really happy with our stroller decision. I think it is the best option and now that we are getting two separate strollers we don't have to ask one person to buy a very expensive double. We can hope that maybe two people are willing to buy one only slightly expensive stroller. Anyway, registering is now done and we can check one more thing off our list of stuff to do before this little one arrives in just 96 days! (I emailed David on Friday and told him we had 98 days left and that really freaked him out).